why a speed3 over....
 

so i am a new member to this forum but i have been reading for a few months, so i know that there are some very smart and dedicated members with a passion for speed3s. i will probably get one this week. (hopefully). anyway with that said. some of my friends and family wondered why a speed 3?? Personally they seem to be a great value with potential, and i like how they look (the smile has grown on me). --Brandnew-- they are one of the best bangs for the buck, but since ill get a used one, for the price 15-20K, there are other great USED options.. (old m3's, 300zxtt, evo, sti, 5.0, s4.....all used of coarse) anyway, i am not trying to bash the speed3, i am excited to get one. but my question is, why did you guys love it so much??? price? great dd? looks? brand?

The ms3 is a great option because they can be picked up with low mileage and they can be just as fast as any of the cars you have listed with proper mods, and handle well when set up correctly. Also, you can rest assured the car will not shit the bed or drain your bank account. While it is possible to find a used m3, 300z, sti, or evo for 15 to 20k, it is hard to find a clean, low mileage one for that price. Most evos or stis under 20k are going to have 60, 70, 80k + miles on them, so they are probably going to be pretty beat. Also if this is a car that you are planning on being your only car to depend on for school/work or whatever you do, then i suggest not buying a sub 20k m3 unless you have another 10k to spend if something breaks. It looks tempting to buy an m3 for the same price as an ms3, but the ms3 is going to cost much less to maintain, and is most likely going to be more reliable.

The MS3 is one car that always makes me smile whenever I drive it. Tell your friends and family to drive one and they'll understand. If they don't get it after that they have no business giving car advice.

I sold my e46 M3 to get my Speed and let me tell you it was a great move. Of course the M3 is legendary but unless you have a bunch of money laying around to throw at it at all times it is not the car for you...especially for a daily driver. I only owned the m3 for just about 1.5 years and it cost me almost $4k to fix all the crap that goes along with those cars and a lot of that was standard maintenance (I had around 85k miles on it). I picked up a practically brand new 2012 speed for what I sold the BMW for and have the piece of mind that itll last a very long time before I have to put really any money into it. Just as fun as the bmw to drive..different but fun. Good luck with your search

One of my very good friends had an M3, summer time and track days that car was impressive, put it in ‘sport’ and thrash it and if you were not smiling you were doing something wrong, but he also had a ram diesel 4x4 for when the weather was anything but blue sky and dry. My MS3 is every bit as fast and nearly as much fun to toss around mountain roads and its a lot better mannered in snow. If you can afford to have an M3 sitting in your garage on the days you can’t drive it, get one you will love it, if you are looking for a grocery getter that can scare the crap out of an M3 owner, get an MS3, it scared him the first time he played a little too far into the throttle in 3rd gear; I believe his response was along the lines ‘you’ve got to be f’ing kidding me, how do you still have your license?’ he was smiling just as much as I was when I got to drive the M3....

1. uncommon car
2. i've wanted it since high school when the first gen came out
3. i love the way it looks
4. best value new
5. hatch was way more convenient than a trunk

plus, if you're even considering buying a sports car (or sporty?) used, it's always risky. you know those cars were beat around. honestly i would never buy a used performance car.

but at the end of the day, it's up to you man. don't let other people influence your idea of what you want unless it's warranted. get what you like, people will always judge.

'cause it's fuckin' awesome, man.

Those are indeed some great used options. But realize that the M3, especially an E90 or newer, EVO, and STI are all in a completely different class in terms of both cost to buy and cost to own. And they do offer more performance.

The main selling point of the MS3 is that it is dirt cheap for what you get, both in terms of performance and "fun factor". I paid $18k OTD for a 2-3 year old example, fully loaded with tech, my payments are <$350 a month, car insurance is like $850 a year. And one thing I can guarantee, the MS3 is more fuel efficient than any of the cars you listed above. And maintenance-wise, other than tires, these cars really aren't significantly more expensive to maintain than any other Japanese compact.

And, come on, it's got 4 doors and a hatch!

Best bang for buck out there, right now

Throw in a sway bar, suspension, and a good set of tires and the corners are the best place to be. I take the windiest road to the coast even if it takes two hours. It's just so much fun. After motor mounts it all gets better from there.

Great car with good value. If you look at the cars that where in the same price range when they where new, nothing came close to it. the Civic SI isn't close to the power and the Miata is a great car but a little on the small side.
Plus it has things that not even my GF's 2014 EVO has like HID's and dual climate control.

Raw power! That's why the sound of the ms3 is great the feel is great . what we can do to these engines is exciting. I love being a sleeper so many people don't know what we drive I remember looking at a new car and a friend suggested the ms3 I thought he was nuts Mazda didn't make a hot hatch I had my heart set on a sti, well I test drove the ms3 and signed for one that night at the dealership. My dad who's grown up driving V8's took my car for a spin he just about shat himself the first time he pulled 3rd gear pulled again and wet himself. Get the ms3 don't look back and while you're at it go order your access port, hpfp internals and RMM.

Depends what your other considerations are besides speed. I wanted a hatchback, so it was either Speed3, WRX, or GTI. Came close to getting a GTI, but I didn't like the clutch feel and got a better deal on the Speed3. Didn't think I needed AWD since I was in SoCal when I bought it.

what everyone else has said plus the interior of the Speeds. Did I mention the interior?

I was in the same boat with car options but the MS3 is perfect because you have the power, the cornering, the price and plus you can go out with your friends/family and be proud of such a nice interior that the Speed provides.

actually yea, i get compliments on my interior all the time actually now that you mention it.

Going to have to agree with you people are always surprised. My buddy has a focus ST every time he gets in my car he tells me how jealous he is and asks if I'll trade cars

They're just hilarious...I test drove a bunch of cars in the same class when I was hunting for a new toy and nothing put the shit eater grin on my face like the MS3 did. It's just a really fun car to drive and the way it comes into boost is addictive.

I've had 3 friends drive my car, one couldn't even go WOT because she was a little shy of the throttle when the boost came on (she got pretty turned on for the next hour or two though lol, yes the MS3 makes em' wet), one said it was such a go kart because of how pointy it is and quick to respond on all the controls, and the last one got the giggles pretty good and was shocked what rolling into the throttle in 3rd gear feels like even after I had done a 2-3-4 pull just before I turned the wheel over to him, behind the wheel it feels like limitless power.

One reason, because the MS3 is cheap.

It's a go cart with air conditioning.
It's not fast, but it's sure a ton of fun.

For me, it was an easy choice among cars in it's class/pricepoint. WRX was ugly and cheap looking/feeling, and I'll never own another VW.

Ms3 is affordable and I'll say comfy inside. Lots of aftermarket parts available

what sold me on the test drive wasn’t the acceleration (that was expected) it was the quality of the suspension and the effectiveness of the brakes right out of the box..... a lot of car companies skimp in the interest of ‘comfort’ and/or just put paint on calipers that were sized for the regular variant of the vehicle.. that was clearly not the case with the MS3. no sound deadening is cheap but it is also lighter, no sun-roof is cheap but it also saves weight and increases rigidity with the chassis; a lot of thought went into our grocery getters and for the money I think you would have a hard time finder better that was new(er).

Honestly, I was in this same position when I was going to buy my Speed. I was set on getting a WRX or a STI but like Hooper stated.... getting a Subie at the same price comes with 80k Plus Miles.

What made me buy the speed instead was the Torque Steer. The power behind this car is amazing! Makes you feel like you have to tame this BEAST! My two cents. This Car also beats a ton of WRX stock. :biggthumpup:

I didn't even read your post. Knowing what I know now, I would go with the Evo. The rest of those cars aren't worth looking at over the MS3 IMO, even the STI.

But under 20k, the evo you're buying is probably a POS. So, that's why I'd go with the MS3 or ms6. Unless you have ambitions to go really fast, then i'd buy a cheap Evo with high mileage for cheap and get a built motor.

If you go the speed route, the MS3 is way more fun to drive, but the MS6 is ultimately better because AWD. But I'd only really want an MS6 if I was going BT. The traction for an MS3 on a K04 can be tamed enough for it to still be fast and fun, but anything more is just spin city for days, without restricting power and that's lame. Hell, even the KO4 can be spin city on e85, but that's 1/2 the fun.

WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY ABOUT TRACTION!?!

Apparently he values it.

:)

Personally I love the MS3 because it looks great, has potential to be a monster, and you dont see them all over the place like you do with STI's, not only that, but there have been many times I have raced and beat people with much more expensive car, that to me is the best feeling, knowing they spent 30k on their car more than me and i just destroyed all of your hopes and dreams with a ..... wait for it...... MAZDA. Not only that, but unless you have owned one or knew someone that owned one, most people have no idea what they are. AWD is awesome, RWD is awesome, but having a FWD car that can blow them out of the water? priceless.
Tyson

I'm saying, I think pulling power back in 1st and 2nd, and even 3rd, gay. I did a roll with a protuned WRX from 2nd and he raped my face by an immeasurable amount of cars. Then when we sped up so I could be in 3rd, he got his face raped.

I'd rather be going ham in all gears, all the time. Having a BT speed3 to me just seems like a waste of potential. I love the car way more than an MS6, but I'm competitive, I like to win, and I like to go really fast. Even if it can be quick dialed back down low, it would be 3x as fast if you didn't have to worry about such bullshit like blowing the tires off for the first 3 gears.

I think what he's saying is that the MS6 is better than the MS3 :wall:

Because it has a blow off valve, And blow off valves are cool.

Eh. Opinions. I work for an OEM in a performance division so I get the chance to drive high hp RWD vehicles a lot....it's a totally different animal. 1st-3rd gears are the money shot gears, but that's easy when you can run 335 cup tires. BT speed has it's spot if you want a crazy fast vehicle for just street fun...and there's no reason you can't boost by gear as well. I will let you know how track events go with a 35R boosted by gear. Already I can pretty much hammer it in 2nd and definitely 3rd no problem. 1st gear is a waste of time in these vehicles anyway because of the ratios. If you're just planning on doing a competitive event then, yeah, a GTX2867 or K04 may be the best route. If you're like @phate; you're competitive as fuck with a K04 and a built motor in AutoX.

Bottom line: do what you want, I'll be having @chrisjnas; out the window of my car with a paddle rowing away from whatever I want in my sushi roller because that's what I want LOL

Damn right!

Because it's not a WRX, not that I have anything against them(having owned one) but the MS3 is way more fun and not as common... Everybody and their brother has a wrx..

if you want a reliable car thats safe and fast get a speed, if you want a fun quick death box get a R32 GTR or GTST they cost 10k for a decent one.

You missed my point. I know you can boost by gear and reduce load targets, etc.. My 1st and 2nd are dialed WAY back just so I can hook, and even 3rd because I was having traction issues with my old tires as well. I'm saying that I prefer NOT to restrict my car's power just for the sake of traction, and that I would prefer to just have all the power possibly achievable in those gears because all wheel drive. Losing races from digs and/or slower pulls because you can't put it down is not my idea of cool. While I love spinning tires from time to time and torque steer, I don't enjoy getting walked by a WRX that I know I can rape only because I can't put down my power. And even when its restricted, and I can hook, I'm restricted too much to be competitive.

I know a BT MS3 is a lot of fun on the street. However, I can tell you without a doubt, if I could do this all over again, I'd go with a MS6 or another AWD vehicle and not hold back. Hell, I'd take RWD over what I have now; at least it will squat its weight on the tires to help put it down.

I love my car, and I love what its capable of, but I am competitive and would prefer rape to the best of my abilities. The difference between Bryce's car and Dave Wood's is that Dave can put it down all day on the street, while Bryce has to put his street map back on his car for it to be even remotely usable. Sure he can leave that race map on, and part throttle shit, but Dave doesn't have to and that's my point.

Look at the video of Papasmurf's getting walked by an SRT4 because he can't put down power to save his life, WITH slicks. Tires and slicks can only do so much. Bad ass and cool car, but definitely not my cup of tea.

Haha I totally missed that point. I agree man. Next vehicle will be a RWD application that is for sure. I love this car to death, but it has it's limitations thats for sure. Really, the only reason I've stuck with the platform is for the community...and I love constantly messing around with settings which you can do for fairly cheap on these vehicles.

All those other cars don't have this level of forum supporting them. If you seriously mod, that's a big point to consider.

*some*

The 5.0, the evo and the STI have a WAY better aftermarket community. I can assure you that.